Girls Night In ch2
by BobWhite Jo Ellen
Summary: Di decides it is time to reconnect with a Bob White friend.


Girls Night In

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story, I am simply borrowing them so their life may be continued; unfortunately I didn't ask permission first. Thanks to my wonderful beta. _

"Why, oh why did I pick up that phone? I was actually out of the office… arrggg and now I am going to be late!" Honey mumbled to herself as she sprinted up the stairs.

Honey was rushing toward her apartment, braiding herself for answering her phone after leaving the office, rather than waiting and dealing with the situation Monday. Running late was not something Honey did; she simply did not allow it. In her opinion it was rude and unnecessary. At the moment, her high heel dress pumps were an added curse to an aggravating situation.

It was weeks ago when Honey received a phone call from her old friend Dianna. The call had been out of the blue, but a pleasant surprise. Honey and Di liked to think they had kept up their youth relationship; however, their adult lives seemed to get in the way. Truth be known it had been months since the two of them had talked together face to face rather than inbox to inbox or voicemail to voicemail. The conversation had been short, the point of it being Di wanted to have a girls night. They both agreed that a night on the town was not what they were looking for. They needed to catch up and so it was arranged that they would meet tonight at Honey's apartment as it was much larger and closer to both places of work. Honey was racing the clock trying to get to her door before Di did.

Flustered, she reached her apartment door and fumbled with the key. As she pushed open the door she did a quick survey triaging any quick tidying that might need to be done. Honey set her brief case down and walked over to her the large sliding glass doors that looked out over the city; shoving the curtains back she took a deep breath. A polite cough interrupted her thoughts. Honey turned to find Di standing in the doorway in her light blue scrubs and book bag.

"It looks like we are both still in work clothes. It's great to see you Di!" Honey strode across the room and embraced Di in a huge hug. It did not escape Honey's notice that Di seemed thinner than the last time they had met, dark circles were camped out under her beautiful eyes, and the usual Di smile that could light up the room didn't seem to reach her eyes. Clearly, something was up.

Di took the second Honey strode across the room to evaluate her. Dressed professionally in a fitted grey skirt and jacket ensemble Honey had an air of confidence about her. Her hand were manicured, her makeup impeccable, and her clothes were clearly top designers. Honey was thriving, or so it appeared. Di began to wonder if this was really such a good idea. Feeling out of place in her scrubs and tennis shoes Di briefly wondered about the state of her hair, wishing she had taken to the time to change at the hospital. Within seconds she and Honey were hugging and it felt as though the world had once again righted itself.

"Oh, Honey it is so good to see you! I feel like it has been years. " Di began in earnest.

"It does feel like a lifetime ago. I am simply dying to get out of these clothes, did you bring clothes or would you like to borrow, or are you fine in …"

Di laughed as Honey rambled, just as Honey always did; trying to put everyone at ease. "I brought clothes and was hoping to change."

"Perfectly, perfect. Why don't you use the bathroom on the left of the hallway. It is fully stocked with everything any girl could possibly want. I am going to quick change and then I think girly wine coolers are in order."

Dianna found her way to the guest bath. Complete with towels, lotions, various soaps it felt like she was in an expensive hotel rather than her long time friend's apartment. Dianna changed out of her scrubs, wadded them up and threw them into her book bag. She pulled out a pair of jeans and a violet colored shirt with a V-neck. Looking in the mirror Di ran brush through her hair. Borrowing a rose colored bar of soap and a washcloth she quickly washed her face and reapplied her make-up. Feeling like a person again Di exited the bathroom and entered the living room and kitchen area. What she saw made her laugh. Music was blaring from the sound speakers. Honey, whom had just minutes before looked put together and professional, was now dancing on the tile floor of the kitchen in track pants and a NYC T-shirt with several nice holes in it. Her fuzzy socks completed the outfit and facilitated sliding across the tile floor. Honey's hair had minutes ago been near perfection and was now tied up in a messy pony tail. Clearly Honey was comfortable. Whipping around with the music Honey stopped short when she noticed Di's reentry.

"Hey!" she said above the music, "Come pick your cooler. I personally am in a Raspberry Smirnoff phase, but I have a variety."

"I don't think I've had one of those. If you claim they are good I'll give it a try."

In no time at all the tops were off of the bottles and the music was turned down.

"What an amazing view you have up here." Di commented looked out of the huge sliding glass door in the living room.

"I know I love to sit on the patio. Do you want to sit outside for a while?"

Honey had a nice little wicker table and chairs along with some potted plants on her patio. While there was noise from the street, it wasn't as bad as Di would have thought.

"So," began Honey, as she put a manila folder on the table," I was thinking takeout tonight as I do not feel up to cooking a meal. What about you? We have a wide variety of choices."

Di opened the folder to find a well organized system of takeout menus. Labeled by type of food and then by price. Di was intrigued to find post-it notes on some of the menu's.

"Only order on Thursdays, ask for Ben?" Di read one of the post–it notes on a cheap Indian take-out only place.

"Ah yes, Tandor Gardens right?" Honey replied as Di nodded. "Well if we order from there delivery is questionable at best, as it is not Thursday and therefore Ben is not working. He is the only one who can have our meal here in thirty minutes from that restaurant. Honestly, I do not understand as it is only a block and a half away. Brian and I created this system after many bad experiences with take-out. Neither one of us have as much time as we would like to cook. We added the notes to remind of what entrées we liked, or any specifics we learned about each restaurant. It is a work in progress."

Di was amazed. She had three take out menus taped to the fridge. The idea to create an organize folder dedicated just to takeout menus with personal notes on it had never crossed her mind.

"So, what are you in the mood for?" Honey asked. "We can almost go in any direction culturally."

"How about Chinese?" Di suggested, knowing that Honey use to love Chinese food and noting there were more menus in that stack than the others. "Do you have a Chinese restaurant you particularly like?"

Honey smiled, "Of course I do. Chinese is my favorite food group."

Quickly she turned to a well loved menu that had been highlighted and written all over. Di noticed with a twinge of jealousy that both Honey's and Brian's scribbles covered the menu. She no longer had someone to scribble on menus with. It did not take them long to decide what they wanted.

"Honey, is Brian working tonight?" Di asked, curious because he seemed to be so much a part of this apartment yet clearly was not here.

"He worked today and gets off in about a half hour. I told him tonight was going to be a girl night." Honey replied while still looking at the menu.

"Oh, Honey I feel so bad, like I am taking time away from you two. "

"Nonsense, I saw him at lunch and I am sure I will see him later this week. He has his own apartment. Last time I saw it the place was in desperate need of a good cleaning."

"What if we invited him for dinner, that way he wouldn't be eating alone." Di suggested. In reality she hadn't seen Brian in a long time. She wasn't sure she was ready to face a Belden yet she knew what a huge part of Honey's life Brian was. Di wanted Honey to know that it was okay to treat her like she use to.

Honey took a minute to reply. She didn't want to make Di feel awkward but, at the same time Di had suggested it. "That sounds like a great idea. I'll text him and see if he wants to stop by."

Honey took out her cell phone and began texting. Within moments the phone rang and Honey worked the details out with Brian. It was decided that Brian would pick up their carry out order.

As the sun went down and the air became cooler the girls headed inside. Together they grabbed plates and glasses. Rather than eat at the fashionable glass and wrought iron table, the girls decided to eat in the living room. It wasn't long before the door opened and in came both Brian and food.

Brian gave Honey a hug, still holding the brown bags of take-out. Di took them out of his hands so he could greet his girlfriend properly. She began to sort the food out on the coffee table centered in the living room. Di took a minute to evaluate Brian's appearance. She had seen him exhausted, stressed, angry, worried, and conflicted in the past; but, right now he appeared just happy. He was, as always, handsome. Di internally groaned, all Belden men were handsome. His dark hair and dark eyes were a gift from his father's side of the family. Mart and all of his sibling had the tell tale Johnson genes of blond curly hair with bright big blue eyes that could melt a heart in a moment.

"Di, it is wonderful to see you!" Brian's comment instantly pulled Di away from her thought process and brought her back to Honey's apartment. The two took a second to hug before turning to the food. "I honestly think we could feed a small army with all of this food you girls ordered, but I did notice you ordered my favorite" looking directly at Honey he added, "thank you."

Soon the trio was seated on the floor around the coffee table. Numerous containers of Chinese food covered the table.

"So Di, what have you been up to?" Brian asked while serving himself a large portion of rice.

"Just work, a lot of work." Di answered realizing there was more truth to those six words than was healthy.

"I understand that." Brian answered empathetically. Di immediately remembered the days of the Brian zombie, the years he had almost no sleep and was not functioning but rather, living in survival mode feeding off his determination to meet his goal and become a doctor. "The nurses I am working with right now are amazing. I have not met a nurse who isn't truly devoted to his or her job. They work just as hard we do."

"Well I don't know about that. I do love my job. I love that I get to know each patient personally. I feel privileged to hear their story and I think that allows me to do a better job helping them heal." Di responded.

"You are absolutely right, sometime I feel as though I am rushed between so many people I hardly get names, much less their story. If there is one thing that I learned early on though; it is that I have to take care of myself before I can take care of anyone else. Managing that with crazy hours at work was really hard, but sleep was so important."

Recognizing he was commenting on her appearance, Di had nothing to say so minutes of silence passed by. Honey fidgeted uncomfortably desperately wanting to avoid any conflict she searched for safe topics but, it was Di that found the topic first.

"Do you remember the beef stroganoff we made in New York with the Hubble twins and Ned? I thought for sure it was going to be uneatable. I was so nervous serving my Chinese fried rice. I have never had stroganoff better than that. I have wondered what on earth was done to that dish when I wasn't looking."

"We probably don't want to know." Brian responded with a laugh. "I was totally looking for the takeout menus until Trixie delegated the salad making job to Jim and me but, everyone came through that night."

Thinking that Honey looked uncomfortable, Di steered the conversation in a different direction. "Have either of you been home lately?"

"No, I probably should make it back to Sleepyside more than I do; but, I somehow manage keep busy here in the city." Honey responded while getting up and opening a second bottle of wine.

"Work has kept me from going home; but, I am hoping to get home sometime this fall and, then I'll be home for Christmas. " Brian answered, "Honey, I would take another glass." Brian held up his wine glass so that Honey could pour a refill. He was walking home and didn't mind a glass or two of wine to unwind after a long day.

"I plan to be home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas." Honey added.

"I heard your brother Bobby was doing really well on the football team." Di commented to Brian.

"Yeah, Moms said the same thing. I haven't made it home for a game yet. Not sure I will be able to this year. I feel bad about that. Bobby is growing up and I don't get to see it."

"I feel the same way. It's like when I left they were still so little they didn't notice me unless I had a Barbie or matchbox car in my hand. Now they are starting to do really cool things and, I am missing it. I should be there celebrating their victories with them and helping them the tough teenage things." Di lamented.

"Well, I think Bobby understands why I can't make it down to see him play. I do call and talk to him every week. I don't get much out of him but, I put the effort in. Plus, he has a strong set of experienced parents and a good group of friends, just like we did. In fact, two of his best friends are your brothers, one of whom is on his football team." He shook his head, " I would never have taken Bobby for a football player. He doesn't have the build for it, basketball maybe, but not football." Brian had this look of total confusion at his brother's choice of sport that it made the girls laugh. "And with that I think I should get back to my apartment. It was suggested at lunch that I use this evening to clean."

Leaving his dish by the sink he said goodbye to the girls and left. Feeling very full the leftovers were stored in the fridge and the dishes stacked in the dishwasher. As the girls were finishing the clean-up Honey's phone rang. Honey apologized saying it was work and she would have to take it. While Honey talked, Di finished putting everything away and wiping down the surfaces, then she looked around the apartment more carefully. Everything was beautiful and fashionable from the stainless steel appliances to the flat screen TV cleverly hidden away in a large media cabinet. The pictures on the wall were truly pieces of art rather than photos, sketches, or posters as in Di's apartment. A small picture frame on the end table by the hallway caught Di's eye. As she picked it up she immediately recognized it. There, staring at her, were all of the Bob-Whites dressed up in Mexican costumes for a fundraiser for a library. Di had the same picture somewhere in her house but, had not looked at it in a while. That had been a great carnival and, each smile reflected the fun and the pride in the accomplishment they felt. Tears came to Di's eyes.

"I felt on top of the world that night. I thought I had really made a difference in someone's life." Honey said softly. Di wasn't sure when Honey had gotten off of the phone or how long she had been standing behind her, but immediately attempted to push the tears away as though they never happened. "I don't feel that way often anymore. Don't get me wrong I love my job, and the money it makes. I still give to good causes but there is a difference between throwing money at something and rolling up your sleeves and investing your time in it." Honey continued. It was then that Di noticed Honey sounded choked up as well.

Di turned around to find Honey with tears in her eyes as well. "I didn't mean to bring up Trixie at dinner Honey. I didn't think; I am sorry." Di attempted to apologize.

"Don't worry about it." Honey said with a forced smile. "I have something we should look at." And with that she was off leaving Di standing alone with the small framed picture in her hands. When Honey returned, she had a photo album in her hands. "It has been ages since I have had this out and looked through it."

Di put the picture down and the two of them sat cross legged on Honey's overstuffed love seat. As Honey opened the first page, Di knew exactly what she was looking at; a Bob White photo album. Clearly it had been made with love and time, little descriptions and comments were made next to each photo.

"This is amazing Honey. Where did you get all the pictures? I have a few; but, it looks like you have many more than I do." Di said in awe of the book she was thumbing through.

Honey's head went down. "Mart gave me most of the pictures, several years ago. I wanted to do a photo album to remember the group and all the fun things we did together; but, I didn't have enough pictures. Mart always had the camera and he offered to make copies of his for me."

Di had nothing to say in response to that. She had never asked Mart about his pictures. In the back of her head she knew he took them; but, she hadn't given them much thought.

The first photo only had three people in it. A young red head stood in the middle. On one side Honey stood clinging to his arm while, on the other side was Trixie looking as if she was already in motion trying to jump out of the picture. In the background were plastic tables and greasy french-fries. "This was the day we found Jim the second time. The day I went from being an only child with absentee parents to having a brother and a set of parents that tried to participate in my life." Honey explained. Di had not been on this adventure but, knew the picture and story well.

Right under the three Bob Whites was a picture of Jim and a young girl with an awful hair cut. "Joeanne Darnell." Honey said simply.

There was a picture of the club house before the group had worked on it. The wisteria vines had overtaken the roof and honeysuckle climbed up the side. "It is hard to even remember it being in that bad of shape." Honey commented.

"I haven't been out there in a while." Di added.

"Brian and I were there over the summer. We did some light cleaning but it still seems to be in good shape." Honey replied.

The two girls sat for hours looking at pictures; some made them laugh while other pictures were more serious.

A picture of Jim in a sombrero on a horse in Arizona had the girls laughing and remembering that wonderful Christmas.

One picture showed Di and Mart in snow suites. Di touched Mart's green sweater with her finger. She could remember the exact second the picture was taken. Mart had handed the camera to Brian to document their journey through 'no man's land'. It was just moments before an avalanche tried to swallow Mart. Once Mart was unburied all Diana could do was joke, it was simply too serious and scary. Just looking at the picture brought a lump to Di's throat; how fragile life is she thought. Honey noticed how affected Di was over the picture but couldn't find the right words.

When finally they had reached the last page the two sat quietly. "You know it is amazing I would never have believed….." Honey just let her words trail without finishing her thought.

"I don't understand how it happened. How did we all become so wrapped up in our own lives that we stopped caring about the lives of others?" Di finished for her.

"I think we still care about each other, it is just that somewhere along the lines we stopped making the effort to function as a group." Honey countered. "I still remember suggesting a motto about if one of us was ever in need we would never fail him or her." Honey paused looking out into space. "I think in that we have all failed."

"To succeed with that motto, not only do we have to be supportive, but we have to open to help. Sometimes asking and accepting help is harder than giving it" Di said softly. "Are you still mad at Trixie?" Di asked.

Honey sighed. "I was mad; maybe I still am. I still do not understand why she left. It was like we had created this wonderful imaginary world with Schoolgirl Shamuses or the Belden-Wheeler Detective Agency and, being together for the rest of our lives. Then she left the dream. I still wanted to live it." Honey paused clearly thinking through what she was saying. "I was mad; but, I think more than mad I was hurt. Hurt that she left me behind, that she didn't want what I thought we wanted; and, then….. then when she stopped writing, calling, and coming home I didn't know what to think. It felt like a slap in the face. Like she didn't think I was good enough for her anymore, she didn't need me anymore. She didn't say that, she didn't say anything. So yeah, I guess I am still mad; more hurt than mad. Mostly I am just confused because, I have no idea what happened to the way it use to be. I think I want my imaginary world back, but I do like the world I live in now. It is all just messed up; and, not the way it's suppose to be." Honey finished with a smile.

"When Trixie kind of dropped off the face of the world I railed a lot about it. Mart, he, just listened. Eventually I got mad at him because I figured as her closest brother and my boyfriend, at the time, he should be upset as well. He never got mad at her or me; he just said, 'she must have her reasons, maybe someday we'll understand.' Of course that didn't help my temper.." Di said thoughtfully," maybe he knew more than we did, those two always shared a special connection."

"Maybe." Honey said considering the new information but taking the opportunity to change the subject, "What happened with you and Mart?"

"He just…" Di started and then turned and faced Honey directly," He wanted to go to Peru, I didn't want him to, he did and I stayed. Pretty simply huh?"

"Doesn't sound simple."

" I guess it isn't. I miss him. I mean we write, but he left a whole- he left!" Di raised her voice and then quickly brought it down to an almost whisper saying, "I never thought he would leave me, we've known each other for as long as I can remember."

Quietly the two sat with tears in their eyes, thinking about how life changes. "It's late." Di observed.

"Stay here" Honey offered. "You can throw your work clothes in the wash tonight and borrow whatever you need for the night."

Realizing how exhausted she was, Di accepted the offer. Her scrubs in the washer, she borrowed the necessary toiletries. Within an hour the futon in Honey's home office was converted into a made up bed and Di was on her way to a peaceful sleep she desperately needed. Honey closed the door to her room and took out an old journal. Hours later, early in the morning, she finally put the journal away and went to sleep.

The next morning Honey woke up to the wonderful smell of frying bacon. Stumbling to the kitchen in her pajamas and robe Honey found Di standing over the stovetop in the kitchen.

"I hope you don't mind but, I decided I needed breakfast this morning!" Di said cheerfully.

Honey was barely functional. Her early work mornings did not usual include a full breakfast. Her weekend mornings were spent sleeping in so they usually included lunch rather than breakfast. Come to think of it, Honey wondered where in the kitchen Di found bacon to fry.

"I slept so well last night that I woke up early and needed to burn some energy, so ran down to the little grocery store down the block and stocked up on breakfast items. We have bagels, cream cheese, scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and orange juice." Di smiled. "I noticed last night that your fridge was stocked mostly with takeout, and I wasn't in the mood for Chinese food or Indian food for breakfast."

"Wow" was all Honey could manage to say, still slightly groggy.

"Here," Di grabbed a ceramic mug, poured coffee into it and handed it to Honey, "Maybe this will wake you up." Di took the last of the bacon off the stove and onto a plate when a buzzer went off. "Oh that must be the drier!" And she bounced off to retrieve her clothes, putting the plate of bacon on the table on her way out.

Breakfast was filling and refreshing. It was decided that they should compare calendars to set up another girl night; but, by the time the food was gone the girls realized neither of them had any time before they went home for Thanksgiving. It was decided they would at least see each other then.

"Well," started Honey, "we are simply going to have to be better with e-mail and phone calls."

Di smiled as she picked up her book bag and headed for the door. "Yeah, we will have to do better with that. Thanks for a great girls night Honey. I really needed it." And with that Di left.

"I think we both did." Honey responded once Di had closed the door behind her.


End file.
